Santa Fe’s 2nd-Quarter Income Declines 16.5%

Santa Fe Southern Pacific said its second-quarter income dropped 16.5% from a year ago, and company officials cited “disappointing” results from its railroad operations.

The Chicago-based transportation company said it earned $119.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared to profit of $143 million in the second quarter of 1984. Revenue for the three-month period was $1.6 billion, down less than 4% from revenue of almost $1.7 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The company said operating income of its Santa Fe Railway dropped 16% to $42.8 million as car loadings were off 7% from the 1984 quarter. At Southern Pacific Transportation, the railway company that is being held in trust pending the approval of a merger of the two railroads, car loadings were off 4.5% and operating income was down 14% to $20.7 million.

Chairman John J. Schmidt said improvements in the holding company’s other operations only partially offset the lower earnings in the railroads. “These rail results were disappointing when compared with the same period last year, but they represent a significant improvement over the first quarter of 1985 when the two railroads reported a combined operating loss of $4.3 million,” he said.

Santa Fe Southern Pacific’s pipeline operation and its natural- resources group both showed improved operating results, but profit from its real estate activities declined 32%. The company said operating income at all other business activities, which include forest products and construction, improved from or held even with last year.